156 Winter Sports

Todd: So, Christian, you're into skiing. What is it about skiing that you like?

Christian: It's just fun to go out with your friends, enjoy a day and have fun cause you can do so many things when you're out there on the slopes. You can go jumping and just cruise down and, there's just so many things you can do. Just the fact that you can hang out with your friends all day. It's just fun, it's just a relaxed atmosphere.

Todd: Now do you go skiing in Japan?

Christian: I haven't yet but I want to go. I mean, Nagano prefecture has, as far as I know, a lot of good places because of the Olympics and everything so. I would like to go and check it out but so far, I haven't had the chance, no.

Todd: What do you need to know to be a good skier? See, actually I don't ski, so I went one time and it didn't work out to well, so.

Christian: Well, you know, practice makes perfect, right! So it's all about practicing. You go out there, you go someone who knows the game and they'll teach you. Spend a couple of days and you'll be a full-blown skier.

Todd: Have you ever trained somebody how to ski?

Christian: Actually, I went skiing once when I was in Australia, that was in 2002, and I had a friend with me from Singapore and he'd never seen snow before, so we went out. I was snow boarding and he was actually downhill skiing, and it was a fun experience for him because he didn't know what was going on, so I taught him a bit but, yeah, he didn't really learn that much. Maybe I was, I don't know if I was a bad teacher or he was a bad skier, maybe a combination of both

Learn Vocabulary from the lesson

slope

When you're out there on the slopes.

In the example "slope" refers to a ski run or path on a mountain. In more general terms, a slope is ground that has an incline, like the side of a hill or mountain. Notice the following:

The road to my house has a steep slope.

My legs are tired from skiing on the slopes all day.

cruise

You can cruise down.

To "cruise" is to go at a fast, but controlled speed. You can use this word to talk about driving a car, skiing, running, or anything were there is movement forward. Notice the following:

He likes to cruise around in his car when the weather is nice.

She cruised past me on her bicycle.

practice makes perfect

You know, practice makes perfect, right!

This is a common phrase that we use to say that if you practice something for a long time you can become very good at it. Notice the following:

I know that practice makes perfect, but she has been playing the same song on the piano for two hours!!

My mother always tells me that practice makes perfect.

full-blown

Spend a couple of days and you'll be a full-blown skier.

We use "full-blown" as an adjective to say that someone or something is completely developed or at a high level of ability or strength. Notice the following:

I saw him a few years ago, before he was a full-blown politician.

It started out as only a few raindrops, but now it's a full-blown storm.

train

Have you trained somebody how to ski?

To "train" someone how to do something is to teach them, usually by showing them how to do it rather than telling them. We use this word to describe teaching sports and technical skills. Notice the following:

When you first start the job they will train you for two weeks before you start.